Can traditional knowledge be a sustainable and resilient solution for water management and food security? A case study in Moroccan oases.

In Morocco, oases cover 48,000 ha are populated by more than 1.7 million inhabitants over a total area of 115,563 km2, with an average density of 15 inhabitants per km2. They are spread all over the Southern Atlas territory covering vast part of the bottom valley of many areas such as the Draa, Ziz, Gheris, Guir, Toudgha and Figuig valleys. The palm groves of southern Morocco constitute one of the most important oasis zone with a great wealth of plant genetic resources. As such, they are integrated into the Moroccan Southern Oasis Biosphere Reserve (RBOSM) recognized by UNESCO in 2000. The economic activity in these oases is essentially centered on agriculture. The survival of these oases is conditioned by capability of collecting water. From a technical point of view, this can be done in different ways, either by diverting water from rivers or wadi, as it is done in the oasis of Draa and Ziz, or by collecting the groundwater. The mobilization of groundwater resources is either done by means of modern pumping systems or by means of traditional systems as khettaras (or qanats), which are underground galleries draining the groundwater located upstream the oasis.